


Slower

by holloway88



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, they love eachother so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 19:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12777771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holloway88/pseuds/holloway88
Summary: "I guess time just passes slower without you." he nuzzled back into Hugh's chest, tightening his grip even more.Hugh shifted in bed and pulled Paul into a big hug, never wanting to let go of him. "Time passes slower without you too, my love."





	Slower

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't watched up to the fall finale there could potentially be some spoilers? It's pretty vague but it could be a bit confusing without that basis. 
> 
> I'm just going to say this right now, if anything happens to Stamets or Culber in Discovery I WILL throw hands. Too many times are the canonically lgbt+ characters killed off, and I will not stand for it. So have some fluff, because I love their relationship so much.

Lieutenant Paul Stamets had never been one who enjoyed working with others, in fact he was voted 'least likely to play nice' in his high school's fake award show his senior year. During his years at the academy his reputation only grew stronger, despite working in a field where it is so vital to be able to work with others. Even after he was put on Discovery and appointed to start working on the spore drive, his attitude hadn't changed one bit. Until he made the decision to make himself the vessel that the spore drive needed to work, in a last minute effort to save everybody in the midst of the war with the Klingons.

His long-time boyfriend had been the first to take notice of the changes that were happening to him, both physically and mentally. The spore drive was draining him, and changing him, in ways that they couldn't possibly begin to fathom. The effects started just two days after the first jump, and they were only growing. His usually cold and stoic personality had been swapped for something more inviting and cheerful. He was still serious when he needed to be, of course, like any good Star Fleet Officer would be; but outside of that he was much more personable.

After a particularly long day in sick bay, Doctor Hugh Culber returned home to his shared quarters with Paul at nearly 0200 hours, _way_ past his shift. He quietly entered the room, silently cursing the familliar beep and soft hum of the doors opening and closing. He glanced over at Paul, who appeared to be sleeping already, and quickly made his way to their bathroom. A sonic shower could do wonders after a long shift, Hugh always told himself. He acquired his pajamas from the dresser near the bathroom doors, and tried to be as quiet as he possibly could while getting ready for bed. 

He stripped from his uniform, dirtied with the substances from a long day of surgeries, and tossed it into the replicators bin. They always recycled their clothes, it was much faster than washing them and saved resources too. He turned on the shower and stepped in, letting it do its work, the vibrations relaxing him from a long day of stress. His mind wandered to Paul, sleeping soundly just a few meters over. He wondered how his day had been, if there had been any problems with the spore drive, and if there was any way that he figured out how to jump without using him as the vessel.

The truth was that Hugh worried about Paul, far more often than he should have to. Especially since it interfered with his medical officer duties. During their last jump he had been in the middle of helping an Andorian give birth when they were informed that they were going to jump. Immediately his mind wandered from the situation at hand, to what Paul must have been going through at that moment. It was purely a personal fault, but luckily the nurses there were able to help him get back into the pressing task, but as soon as it was done he paged Paul, or rather _Lieutenant Stamets_ , to see if he was okay.

Ever since that jump he's been required to watch him during the jump, to monitor his vitals to see if he needed to be pulled out before they were done.

It hurt Hugh so much, to see Paul like that. In such immense amounts of paint, all for this damn war. A war that didn't even need to be started, and one that they didn't need to be such a huge part of. Paul was always saying how he never signed up to be apart of a war, that he signed up for a science mission, to put his knowledge and discoveries to the test. Yet, here he was, putting himself at risk for the sake of winning the war .

Hugh sighed and turned off the shower after a while of contemplation, and slipped into his Starfleet standard issue sweatpants and sleep shirt. He brushed his teeth and turned off the bathroom light, sneaking into bed as quietly as he could. Paul stirred when he got in, tugging at the covers. Hugh breathed a calm sigh when he was met with the familliar warmth of his partner. Subconsciously Paul rolled over and draped his arm over Hugh's chest, pulling him in close and tight. He smiled and moved his hand up to stroke Paul's skin, soft and warm.

"Why are you home so late?" Paul asked in a sleepy mumble, nuzzling his head into Hugh's neck.

"Shh," Hugh hushed, "go back to sleep, honey."

"I haven't really been asleep, just in and out." Paul responded.

Hugh frowned, "I'm sorry." he moved to place a kiss on Paul's forehead. "We had a lot of surgery today, and we got backed up when we had code black." he explained softly, taking in how Paul smelled. Like a forest in the early morning, dew on the blades of grass, and mushrooms that grow under the dirt.

"It's okay." Paul said, voice sounding more awake than before. "What time is it?"

"A little after 0200."

"Oh," Paul said, sounding surprised, "I thought it was a lot later than that."

"Why is that?" Hugh asked, kissing his forehead again.

"I don't know," he thought for a moment, "I guess time just passes slower without you." he nuzzled back into Hugh's chest, tightening his grip even more.

Hugh shifted in bed and pulled Paul into a big hug, never wanting to let go of him. "Time passes slower without you too, my love."


End file.
